{"id":27161,"date":"2017-02-10T17:44:02","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T01:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/?p=27161"},"modified":"2017-02-10T20:36:02","modified_gmt":"2017-02-11T04:36:02","slug":"afc-quarterly-sardar-azmoun-irans-striking-sensation-making-waves-against-the-worlds-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2017\/02\/10\/afc-quarterly-sardar-azmoun-irans-striking-sensation-making-waves-against-the-worlds-best\/","title":{"rendered":"AFC Quarterly: Sardar Azmoun – Iran\u2019s striking sensation making waves against the world\u2019s best"},"content":{"rendered":"

AFC Quarterly – KUALA LUMPUR, Two years after Islamic Republic of Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz tipped him for the top, Sardar Azmoun is creating waves against the best teams in the world in the UEFA Champions League and steering Iran to pole position in their group in qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Deep in the bowels of Tehran\u2019s imposing Azadi Stadium, the smile on Sardar Azmoun\u2019s face expresses more than words could ever muster. \u201cYou see,\u201d he says with the broadest of grins, \u201cI won. I told you!\u201d It is a bold statement at the end of Islamic Republic of Iran\u2019s most important game of the year but, just as Team Melli prevailed against Korea Republic in the nations\u2019 crucial qualifier for the FIFA World Cup finals, so Azmoun had triumphed in his own personal battle. Twenty-four hours before, the FC Rostov forward had distilled the meeting between two of Asia\u2019s strongest teams into the simplest of equations: him versus Son Heung-min, the high-flying star of Tottenham Hotspur and the Koreans\u2019 talismanic winger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is me against the No. 7,\u201d Azmoun had said the night before the game. \u201cAnd I will be the best.\u201d True to his word, Azmoun outshone the former SV Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen forward. Son was stifled \u2013 like the entire Korea Republic team \u2013 finishing the 90 minutes without a shot on target. By contrast, Azmoun claimed the game\u2019s only goal with an accomplished finish from inside the area, moving Iran another step closer to a fifth appearance on the game\u2019s greatest stage. At the time, it was an important goal but, in the context of his continuing rise, that strike was another example of Azmoun\u2019s unquestionable talent. With some of the biggest clubs in the European game now tracking his every move, he could soon be about to show the wider world just how good he has become.<\/p>\n

Not that the attention will faze the precociously talented striker. Since announcing his arrival on the Asian football scene in Australia two years ago, Azmoun has proven that confidence and assuredness are characteristics he possesses in abundance. The murmurs and rumblings that had been steadily building in the 18 months prior to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup turned into the loudest of roars at Sydney\u2019s Stadium Australia when Azmoun scored the goal that woke up the rest of the continent to his ability. It came against Qatar in the group stages of the continental championship and, after Andranik Teymourian stole possession deep inside the Qatari half, Ashkan Dejagha sent a low cross in the direction of Azmoun. In an instant, the youngster had pirouetted past the defence, back-heeling the ball towards goal before prodding his shot beyond the goalkeeper. It was an audacious moment of skill and perception that marked Azmoun out as a remarkable talent. \u201cBrilliant goal, it was a special movement of the centre forward to make a great turn at the level of some of the best centre-forwards I have worked with in my life, like Ruud van Nistelrooy,\u201d said Iran coach Carlos Queiroz after the game. \u201cIt was a brilliant goal. \u201cI think we knew that we should try those turns and we should try to attack the space behind, but the way he moved the ball for a young player, he has a great future in front of him.\u201d Queiroz, of course, is no stranger to the best players in the world. Having worked with van Nistelrooy during his time as assistant coach to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United before becoming head coach at Real Madrid and leading the Portugal national side, the opinions of the well-travelled tactician carry significant weight. And that is a fact not lost on Azmoun. \u201cOf course, those kind of comparisons make my duties and my responsibilities a lot more difficult,\u201d says Azmoun. \u201cWhen a big coach like Carlos Queiroz, our coach, when he compares a young player like me in an official press conference to Ruud van Nistelrooy then of course, it\u2019s a great privilege. <\/p>\n

\u201cCarlos worked with Van Nistelrooy, so he Above AFC Asian Cup 2015 knows his abilities and he knows my abilities, so that was a great honour for me. \u201cWe have many great strikers at the minute, like Karim Ansarifard and Reza Ghoochannejhad. All these players, the current crop of strikers, are all fine players but perhaps some of them haven\u2019t shone as much as they can and haven\u2019t shown their full potential. \u201cWe can\u2019t forget that Iran is a big country with 80 million people and there is a lot of potential, a lot of brilliant talent in Iran and I believe we can have good strikers, and good footballers altogether, in Iran.\u201d With 16 goals in 22 appearances since breaking into Team Melli back in May 2014, Azmoun is leading the way for the next generation of Iranian forwards, following in the footsteps of legends such as Ali Daei and Vahid Hashemian. Daei\u2019s record of 109 goals for the national team is already being talked about in some quarters as an achievable target for Azmoun, but the 21-year-old \u2013 he celebrates his 22nd birthday on January 1 \u2013 contests such landmarks have yet to enter his mind. \u201cI really haven\u2019t thought about this kind of thing,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat I try to concentrate on and be determined to do is to make sure I do my best for the national team, and when I\u2019m playing for the national team I give my best performance inside the pitch so that I can serve my nation as best as can. \u201cAli Daei has the highest number of national team goals in the world, so that record belongs to an Iranian guy, so if he holds it or I hold it, it doesn\u2019t make a difference. He comes from Iran and he makes us all proud and I\u2019m very proud of that. \u201cHe was my hero when I was a kid. If Ali Daei had been born in another country they would have made a statue of his legs and put it in the middle of the city because he has achieved so much. I met him and have trained with him a couple of times. We know each other, but we haven\u2019t really talked to each other too much.\u201d Daei \u2013 still widely regarded as Iran\u2019s greatest ever player \u2013 was a late bloomer, making his move to Europe at the age of 28 before becoming the first Asian player to score in the UEFA Champions League when he netted twice for Hertha Berlin against Chelsea following earlier stints with Arminia Bielefeld and Bayern Munich. Azmoun, by contrast, made his move to Europe at the age of just 17, joining Rubin Kazan in Russia from Sepahan before signing for FC Rostov in the summer after a stint on loan at the club and making his debut in the UEFA Champions League at the start of the current campaign.<\/p>\n

Leaving Iran at such an early stage of his career brought with it significant challenges, and the support of his family was key to Azmoun kicking off the next phase of life as a footballer. \u201cIt was extremely difficult for me being away from my family at the age of 17,\u201d he says. \u201cI actually couldn\u2019t handle it and after one week I called my family and I said: \u2018You guys have to come here and stay with me\u2019. \u201cIt was very difficult. But it\u2019s a completely different level for playing. It was a lot more professional: my sleeping patterns, my routine, everything, was in a completely different way, but I\u2019m very happy I moved to Rubin Kazan when I was 17. \u201cFor me coming from a sporting family \u2013 my father is a volleyball coach and was a player \u2013 so that really helped me. All of my family members, my mum, my sister, they all came to Kazan and really supported me. Of course, family is the most valuable thing and having a family like mine has helped. They really understand sport and they also helped me to improve in certain aspects of my career. It\u2019s really helped a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father has undergone a lot of difficulties in volleyball, especially in the city that we\u2019re from, Gonbad-e-Kavus. It\u2019s completely focused on volleyball. My father didn\u2019t achieve to the extent that he deserved, so he always wanted me to become a football player. It was his dream, his desire for me to become a football player, so I got into football. \u201cNow, everything is good for me. I made a promise to my dad and I\u2019m really hopeful and optimistic that I can fulfil that promise. I can\u2019t reveal the promise,\u201d he says with a smile, \u201cbut it\u2019s an extremely difficult promise to achieve. If I tell you now and I can\u2019t achieve it, then I\u2019m going to be embarrassed! If I achieve it, I\u2019ll tell you what it was.\u201d The current season has taken Azmoun to a higher level, and the forward has responded in impressive fashion. Two goals in the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Champions League \u2013 against Anderlecht and Ajax Amsterdam \u2013 were followed by eye catching strikes against Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in the group phase of the competition that have intensified speculation over his future. Former European champions Liverpool have been linked with a move to sign the forward, as have Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, and the speculation is welcomed by a player keen to test himself against the finest players in the best leagues within the game. \u201cThis season is my first time playing in the UEFA Champions League, although I had played in the Europa League before,\u201d he says. \u201cBut the Champions League is at a completely different level. For me, it\u2019s been a great experience and I\u2019m looking forward to proving myself again and perhaps some bigger clubs in Europe will see my performances and it will be great for me, especially at this stage of my career. \u201cI still believe I can improve more and progress more. I don\u2019t think I have achieved all that I can achieve. If I had made some better decisions perhaps I\u2019d be in a better place than I am now, but I still have a long way to go and I\u2019m always trying to develop and progress and get better and better every day and hopefully I can achieve a lot more in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to his exploits at club level, Azmoun has his sights set firmly on bringing success to the Iran national team as the country continues to look for a way to end a disappointing run at continental level without a major title. Despite making his debut for Team Melli in the build-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, Azmoun was not included in Queiroz\u2019s final 23-man squad for the trip to Brazil, where the Iranians faced off against Argentina, Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Two defeats, including a narrow loss against the Argentinians thanks to a late winner from Lionel Messi, and a draw \u2013 against the Nigerians \u2013 saw Iran leave Brazil at the conclusion of the group stages with their heads held high. Their performances in Brazil, coupled with the retention of Queiroz as coach, saw Iran go to the Asian Cup amongst the favourites, only for Team Melli to slip up in a penalty shoot-out at the end of a thrilling encounter with Iraq in Canberra in the quarter-finals, extending the country\u2019s drought in the continental championship to more than 40 years. \u201cOne thing I need to say is that we were unlucky in the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia,\u201d says Azmoun. \u201cWe really had a good team, and at the moment we have a great team with many, many great players. We have different options for each position, so we have a team with a lot of capacity to grow and a lot of room to prove ourselves in different competitions. \u201cBut we are hopeful we will qualify for the World Cup with this great team and also with our great coach. We hope we can go to the second round at the World Cup and we think we can win the Asian Cup. We deserve it. We have been the number one Asian team in the FIFA rankings for a long time now and even if you look at the current players who are playing in Europe, there is an increasing number of Iranians in different European leagues, which is of course, a great achievement for Iranian football.\u201d The European influence on the Iran national team has been growing in recent years, with Azmoun joined at FC Rostov and in the national team by Saeid Ezatolahi, a midfielder in the mould of Iranian legend Javad Nekounam, while full-back Milad Mohammadi signed earlier this year for another Russian side, Terek Grozny. Alireza Jahanbakhsh, meanwhile, plies his trade with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar while others, such as Ansarifard and Ghoochannejhad as well as veterans like Masoud Shojaei, are dotted elsewhere around Europe, bringing an added level of professionalism to the squad. It is with that in mind that Azmoun is confident Iran can go on to not only qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018 but that the current generation within Team Melli \u2013 and with Queiroz at the helm \u2013 can finally succeed where the likes of Daei, Nekounam and others fell short. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that with coach Queiroz, one aspect of his personality is that he does not like losing,\u201d says Azmoun. \u201cHe hates it. He\u2019s got that winning mentality. He loves winning and he does his best and he tries to get his team to do their best to win. \u201cWe have achieved a lot over the last few years, we\u2019re now the best Asian team in the FIFA rankings and also our results speak for themselves. But unfortunately, there has not been enough proper support for coach Queiroz. There have been a lot of people that don\u2019t really want the national team to achieve good results. \u201cBut we\u2019re hopeful that, if the team is properly supported and under the leadership of coach Queiroz, we can keep going strong and qualify for the World Cup.\u201d And there can be little doubt it will be Azmoun who will be leading the charge to Russia for Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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